Diabetes Epedemic

[brommers]

As a type 2 sufferer I fail to understand why it is not possible to purchase a Continuous Glucose Monitor in Thailand, unlike many Western countries. These easy to use devices give out realtime information on glucose levels without the finger prick. This greatly enhanced our ability to understand the impact that foods have and modify our eating to minimise sugar spikes. Why does this country prevent us living a more carefully managed life? I suspect there is pressure from the likes of hospitals that want to control their use and make big bucks.

[scubascuba3]

On 4/9/2024 at 10:27 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

I had no symptoms of my pre diabetes till the GP did a blood test.

were you overweight?

[scubascuba3]

22 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Good discussion on sources of sugar but.... actually sugar isn't the main cause of diabetes.

 

Type 1 is an auto-immune disease where the immune system produces anti-bodies which attack the beta cells in pancreas that produce proinsulin, which breaks down into insulin and c-peptide. The beta cells over time die off and are unable to produce any more insulin, hence patients generally require insulin injections, usually both the long release daily dose and additional doses before meals of short release insulin. To check if someone has type 1 diabetes, a c-peptide test is performed, and reading below 1.6 is considered beta cells are failing, and obviously 0 means they've failed completely. Usually antibody test is performed as well, and if positive, there's no hope of them recovering, although it's also very rare to see pancreas recover after failing for other reasons. Most people diagnosed with type 1 are young, up to mid 20s, although there are some cases where it develops later in life. It is not caused by sugar, but rather allergens found in some foods, most often quoted was cow's milk.

 

Type 2 is insulin resistance. Meaning there is insulin in the body, but cells can't use it to absorb glucose from blood. Again, while sugar and carbohydrates cause spikes in glucose, they are not the main reason for insulin resistance, which often can be reversed (increasing insulin sensitivity), and there are several quite successful programs for it, which include cutting out fats, blaming them for "clogging" cells and therefore starving them of energy. Type 2 diabetes patients are generally very slim, although they consume large amount of foods. Improving sensitivity to insulin can lower the glucose levels without medication, although it requires significant lifestyle changes, where many people rather take medication like Metmorfin, or even resort to insulin injection.

 

There are several more types, but above 2 are most talked about. Still, it's quite important to know that regardless of sugar, especially refined one, and processed carbohydrates that very quickly turn into glucose, are not good for you by any stretch of imagination, they are not the main causes of diabetes. Other lifestyle choices and foods are, however.

Wise words.

 

I was chatting to a massage lady the other day and she said she was diabetic, looked only a little overweight, didn't know whether she was type 1 or 2, but tablets kept her around hba1c of 6. Her diet didn't seem too bad, she talked about cutting down on fruit.

 

Unless she was lying about her diet I couldn't see why she would be type 2, but apparently asians do get it at a lower body mass vs non asian

Edited April 11 by scubascuba3

[tomazbodner]

3 hours ago, brommers said:

As a type 2 sufferer I fail to understand why it is not possible to purchase a Continuous Glucose Monitor in Thailand, unlike many Western countries. These easy to use devices give out realtime information on glucose levels without the finger prick. This greatly enhanced our ability to understand the impact that foods have and modify our eating to minimise sugar spikes. Why does this country prevent us living a more carefully managed life? I suspect there is pressure from the likes of hospitals that want to control their use and make big bucks.

You can purchase it. Check Abbott FreeStyle Libre on Lazada. About 2000 baht for one. On Shopee there was just promotion for about 1700 baht per one. They got a bit more expensive recently because of THB sliding, but still affordable. It can be used with FreeStyle Libre reader (~1500-1600 THB) or iPhone (or if you activate with iPhone or reader, you can also read from it with a phone if it has NFC). Libre 2, Libre 3 (which doesn't require tapping on it to read last 8 hours of data) are more expensive, both readers and sensors. The sensor lasts 14 days. There is also SinoCare available on Lazada, which is a bit more clumsy to put on, a bit less accurate but still close, which has 2 parts - a replaceable sensor and a transmitter - so you have to first apply sensor which is just that, and then put the transmitter on it. Never used it, just know some who do, so I am aware you need WeChat account to activate it, then use phone to read from it. Apparently it transmits all the time so you get alert when glucose is too high or too low.

 

I'm adding a couple of links where I purchased stuff from for my better half:

 

For FreeStyle Libre (same link for sensor, reader, or both):

https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i4129320146-s16186087767.html

https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i4248137921-s16806882918.html

 

And some which I did not buy:

Sibionics: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sibionics-24-i4917068558-s20703981535.html

SinoCare: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sinocare-cgm-15-i5012890537-s21186047871.html

Libre3: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/freestyle-libre-3-3-abbott-freestyle-libre-glucose-sensor-real-time-ver3-i4238285617-s16902949255.html?

Libre3 Reader: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/abbott-freestyle-libre-3-3-sensor-reader-mmoll-100-i4484157122-s18132930020.html

Libre2: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/abbott-freestyle-libre-2-ver-2-2-i4238288039-s16736937929.html

 

I don't know what the difference between Libre 1 and 2 is, both are 2 weeks duration but need different readers. Libre 3 is linked to device that activates it and that's what it communicates with. Libre 1 you can use several devices to read from it. Readers from above link for Libre 1 are in "European" mmol/L numbers, where normal fasting glucose is about 5, while application would read it like the "American" units mg/dl, which is x18, so normal fasting glucose would be around 90. I haven't seen readers that can use mg/dl, but the numbers are easy to convert, and if you really don't want to, use phone to tap on the sensor.

 

Libre 1 takes 1 hour from activation to start sending reliable readings, and lasts 14 days for Asia/Europe versions. But US version locks itself up after 10 days. No idea why, they look identical.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ah yes, all these shops are in China so it takes 5-7 days to deliver. So far I haven't had a problem. Beware the expiry date. Currently most sold sensors are expiring 31 August 2024 or 30 September 2024. So mind the quantity purchased to make sure you use them up before they expire. They should be kept on 4-25C.

[bbi1]

 

On 4/8/2024 at 7:16 PM, rexpotter said:

Diabetes in Thailand (2021)

 

52,223,500

 

Total adult population

 

11.6% prevalence of diabetes in adults 6,066,600 Total cases of diabetes in adults

 

 

 

Diabetes in Thailand (2024)

This number has doubled from 2021, pushing the total number of diabetes patients in Thailand to 3.3 million, DDC's deputy director-general Dr Direk Khampaen said.

 

 

Not suprising, with all the sugary sheet Thais eat all the time, plus the added sugar they add to all their meals.

[3NUMBAS]

its everywhere cos of ju nk food ,coke pepsi and KFC

[tomazbodner]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Wise words.

 

I was chatting to a massage lady the other day and she said she was diabetic, looked only a little overweight, didn't know whether she was type 1 or 2, but tablets kept her around hba1c of 6. Her diet didn't seem too bad, she talked about cutting down on fruit.

 

Unless she was lying about her diet I couldn't see why she would be type 2, but apparently asians do get it at a lower body mass vs non asian

She was probably slimmer before. They can eat a lot, but body can't absorb sugar in type 2 diabetes. When they take Metmorfin it helps absorb more, and that makes them gain a bit of weight. But they are still having severe insulin resistance, which is probably accumulation of fatty foods over prolonged period of time blocking insulin from working.

 

Slim shape no matter what they eat therefore makes quite a lot of sense. They eat a lot but very little of glucose gets into cells, hence they have no surplus to build fat.

 

Maybe it would be worth listing symptoms of hyperglycemia here so possibly someone here can recognise it early on their partner or themselves:

- eating a lot but not gaining weight, or losing weight without reason

- feeling hungry all the time

- feeling extremely thirsty, and having cravings for very cold drinks

- easily tired, sleepy, like getting into a vehicle and promptly falling asleep

- very dry mouth, often with cracked lips which heal very slowly

- blurred vision

- frequent headache that lasts hours

- frequent urination, like running to toilet all the time, rarely making it an hour in-between, even during the night

 

Some resort to lowering sugar through insulin or medication, but that can drop it too low, and that's even more dangerous. Symptoms of hypoglycemia are:

- most prominent one is intense sweating

- skin gets very pale

- person gets very easily irritated

- feeling very hungry, but not much different from insulin resistance where cells are undernourished

- sleepy, weak, in serious cases that last longer time unable to move

- confusion

 

In cases of too low sugar, somewhere under 3/56 it is best to get some sugary drink without any food to quickly spike sugar, say a few sips of a sugary tea or just sugar water, and 20-30 minutes later, when glucose increases, have some food with longer lasting effect on glucose (complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats...)

 

Had to graduate from this in the past 6 months and having a 40+ year veteran diabetic type 1 in family helped a great deal in this.

 

Hope it helps anyone.

 

[fredwiggy]

On 4/10/2024 at 6:44 PM, noobexpat said:

 

Did you have a mirror and progressively tighter trousers?

 

No need for blood test. Common sense!

Diabetics can be lean and small. My son has it at 35, and always took care of himself and still does. I taught all my children good eating habits since birth, yet he got it because it's in our family genes. My brother died from a heart attack at 67, my age now, brought on by being diabetic and not losing weight like he was told. He was always in shape until later when he spent too much time on his computer, loved to eat, mostly healthy but a lot. My ex, along with most of her family of 12, has it. Her mom has shots daily, and weighs maybe 80 pounds. My ex has it, and maybe weighs 115 at 5'4". My aunt died from it. I've eaten very lean all my life, still do, and worked out from age 17 till now. I took a blood sugar test last time I visited my family last November, and it was 88 twice, so it's not in me by that evidence. Thailand has a major problem in it's rice consumption, and the last couple decades it's risen, and a lot of this is because of the rice and the sugar drinks they consume. Rice is okay but not every meal, every day, especially if you're prone to diabetes, yet it's the country's staple food. Add to this the mama noodles, which are eaten like crazy as we all know. High carbs, high sugar,, eventually less exercise is a country with rising diabetes cases and obesity.

[saintdomingo]

On 4/9/2024 at 10:27 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

I had no symptoms of my pre diabetes till the GP did a blood test.

What are the symptoms of pre diabetes and early stage 1.?

Thanks.

[ignis]

Not all Diabetes are the same

 

I know a good few Thai Diabetics, very few are over weight, some are so thin  stick men and woman and still use insulin every day, think maybe there not that many type 2,  or not that I know 

[jak2002003]

On 4/9/2024 at 11:18 AM, rexpotter said:

Yes, they test more these days, like I said when I posted this, it is not accurate but that was not the point. Don't shoot the messenger. Go to any mall, and watch the fat little kids waddling around with their overweight mothers searching for the next ice cream or donut shop. Try to buy any snack at 7-11 or anywhere really and it is loaded with sugar. Its a crime. It should be restricted how many of these junk food outlets are allowed in any sguare meter in any retail center.

When I first arrived 25 years ago, there were not fat people here. And the Thai's I worked with did not like sweet anything, they liked healthy food.

I wonder what is going to happen with all of this? they can't put 30% of the population on Ozempic. And Asians do not look good overweight.

I from the uk and it's even worse there for diabetes. 13.6 million at risk from type 2 diabetes.. 

 

Here in Thailand I have chosen to go hungry rather then buy any 'food' from 7/11.  I have not been able to find any food in that place that did not contain lots of sugar. 

 

 

 

 

[Banana7]

If anyone is interested in improving their diet and eating healthy food, listen to Dr. Ekberg on Youtube

[scubascuba3]

7 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Diabetics can be lean and small. My son has it at 35, and always took care of himself and still does. I taught all my children good eating habits since birth, yet he got it because it's in our family genes. My brother died from a heart attack at 67, my age now, brought on by being diabetic and not losing weight like he was told. He was always in shape until later when he spent too much time on his computer, loved to eat, mostly healthy but a lot. My ex, along with most of her family of 12, has it. Her mom has shots daily, and weighs maybe 80 pounds. My ex has it, and maybe weighs 115 at 5'4". My aunt died from it. I've eaten very lean all my life, still do, and worked out from age 17 till now. I took a blood sugar test last time I visited my family last November, and it was 88 twice, so it's not in me by that evidence. Thailand has a major problem in it's rice consumption, and the last couple decades it's risen, and a lot of this is because of the rice and the sugar drinks they consume. Rice is okay but not every meal, every day, especially if you're prone to diabetes, yet it's the country's staple food. Add to this the mama noodles, which are eaten like crazy as we all know. High carbs, high sugar,, eventually less exercise is a country with rising diabetes cases and obesity.

Your son is type 1? you don't specify the types

[fredwiggy]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Your son is type 1? you don't specify the types

Type 1. Mother in law 1, ex wife 2, brother was 1.

[fredwiggy]

14 hours ago, brommers said:

As a type 2 sufferer I fail to understand why it is not possible to purchase a Continuous Glucose Monitor in Thailand, unlike many Western countries. These easy to use devices give out realtime information on glucose levels without the finger prick. This greatly enhanced our ability to understand the impact that foods have and modify our eating to minimise sugar spikes. Why does this country prevent us living a more carefully managed life? I suspect there is pressure from the likes of hospitals that want to control their use and make big bucks.

I questioned that when I came here and saw my ex mother in law just getting daily shots without being checked but once a month.

[ignis]

13 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

She was probably slimmer before. They can eat a lot, but body can't absorb sugar in type 2 diabetes. When they take Metmorfin it helps absorb more, and that makes them gain a bit of weight. But they are still having severe insulin resistance, which is probably accumulation of fatty foods over prolonged period of time blocking insulin from working.

 

Slim shape no matter what they eat therefore makes quite a lot of sense. They eat a lot but very little of glucose gets into cells, hence they have no surplus to build fat.

 

Maybe it would be worth listing symptoms of hyperglycemia here so possibly someone here can recognise it early on their partner or themselves:

- eating a lot but not gaining weight, or losing weight without reason

- feeling hungry all the time

- feeling extremely thirsty, and having cravings for very cold drinks

- easily tired, sleepy, like getting into a vehicle and promptly falling asleep

- very dry mouth, often with cracked lips which heal very slowly

- blurred vision

- frequent headache that lasts hours

- frequent urination, like running to toilet all the time, rarely making it an hour in-between, even during the night

 

Some resort to lowering sugar through insulin or medication, but that can drop it too low, and that's even more dangerous. Symptoms of hypoglycemia are:

- most prominent one is intense sweating

- skin gets very pale

- person gets very easily irritated

- feeling very hungry, but not much different from insulin resistance where cells are undernourished

- sleepy, weak, in serious cases that last longer time unable to move

- confusion

 

In cases of too low sugar, somewhere under 3/56 it is best to get some sugary drink without any food to quickly spike sugar, say a few sips of a sugary tea or just sugar water, and 20-30 minutes later, when glucose increases, have some food with longer lasting effect on glucose (complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats...)

 

Had to graduate from this in the past 6 months and having a 40+ year veteran diabetic type 1 in family helped a great deal in this.

 

Hope it helps anyone.

 

frequent urination, like running to toilet all the time, rarely making it an hour in-between, even during the night,

 

been there but is good = kidney's are working and flushing out  the bad stuff,  worrying is a small amount 2 or 3 times a day, last hospital visit had gone from stage 2 to stage 4 CKD, WHY have no idea, last time this happened was 2015, went to stage 5 CKD and could not pee at all.  in Hospital 5 days, still keep to same diet No Salt, No diet drinks, only drink water, Red Meat no more than 2 x week..   would love to go back to running to toilet all the time,

[ignis]

14 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

You can purchase it. Check Abbott FreeStyle Libre on Lazada. About 2000 baht for one. On Shopee there was just promotion for about 1700 baht per one. They got a bit more expensive recently because of THB sliding, but still affordable. It can be used with FreeStyle Libre reader (~1500-1600 THB) or iPhone (or if you activate with iPhone or reader, you can also read from it with a phone if it has NFC). Libre 2, Libre 3 (which doesn't require tapping on it to read last 8 hours of data) are more expensive, both readers and sensors. The sensor lasts 14 days. There is also SinoCare available on Lazada, which is a bit more clumsy to put on, a bit less accurate but still close, which has 2 parts - a replaceable sensor and a transmitter - so you have to first apply sensor which is just that, and then put the transmitter on it. Never used it, just know some who do, so I am aware you need WeChat account to activate it, then use phone to read from it. Apparently it transmits all the time so you get alert when glucose is too high or too low.

 

I'm adding a couple of links where I purchased stuff from for my better half:

 

For FreeStyle Libre (same link for sensor, reader, or both):

https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i4129320146-s16186087767.html

https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i4248137921-s16806882918.html

 

And some which I did not buy:

Sibionics: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sibionics-24-i4917068558-s20703981535.html

SinoCare: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sinocare-cgm-15-i5012890537-s21186047871.html

Libre3: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/freestyle-libre-3-3-abbott-freestyle-libre-glucose-sensor-real-time-ver3-i4238285617-s16902949255.html?

Libre3 Reader: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/abbott-freestyle-libre-3-3-sensor-reader-mmoll-100-i4484157122-s18132930020.html

Libre2: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/abbott-freestyle-libre-2-ver-2-2-i4238288039-s16736937929.html

 

I don't know what the difference between Libre 1 and 2 is, both are 2 weeks duration but need different readers. Libre 3 is linked to device that activates it and that's what it communicates with. Libre 1 you can use several devices to read from it. Readers from above link for Libre 1 are in "European" mmol/L numbers, where normal fasting glucose is about 5, while application would read it like the "American" units mg/dl, which is x18, so normal fasting glucose would be around 90. I haven't seen readers that can use mg/dl, but the numbers are easy to convert, and if you really don't want to, use phone to tap on the sensor.

 

Libre 1 takes 1 hour from activation to start sending reliable readings, and lasts 14 days for Asia/Europe versions. But US version locks itself up after 10 days. No idea why, they look identical.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ah yes, all these shops are in China so it takes 5-7 days to deliver. So far I haven't had a problem. Beware the expiry date. Currently most sold sensors are expiring 31 August 2024 or 30 September 2024. So mind the quantity purchased to make sure you use them up before they expire. They should be kept on 4-25C.

Still cannot work out what these are.. Just automatic blood testing only ?

 

or are they AID systems, also known as hybrid closed loop systems, can detect changes in a person’s sugar levels in real time and automatically adjust insulin doses in response. ?  last time I asked here in Thailand they were very expensive  + the on going cost every 10 - 14 days

[scubascuba3]

7 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Type 1. Mother in law 1, ex wife 2, brother was 1.

ok makes more sense now as you said in family genes

[rexpotter]

16 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

I from the uk and it's even worse there for diabetes. 13.6 million at risk from type 2 diabetes.. 

 

Here in Thailand I have chosen to go hungry rather then buy any 'food' from 7/11.  I have not been able to find any food in that place that did not contain lots of sugar. 

 

 

 

 

7-11 food is total rubbish these days, toxic crap. Used to have hot dogs with mustard and ketchup and onions. Hot Dog Bun, that gals called it. Not anymore

[tomazbodner]

5 hours ago, ignis said:

Still cannot work out what these are.. Just automatic blood testing only ?

 

or are they AID systems, also known as hybrid closed loop systems, can detect changes in a person’s sugar levels in real time and automatically adjust insulin doses in response. ?  last time I asked here in Thailand they were very expensive  + the on going cost every 10 - 14 days

These are not closed systems. Only continuous glucose monitors, which either only give reading and graph when you tap on then (like Libre) or continuously transmit information to reader and give alerts if readings go outside limits (like Libre 3). There are also closed loop systems which include an insulin pump. The reader detects too high reading from the sensor and instructs insulin pump to release insulin. Those are available, but cost in range of 250-300,000 baht for a pump that only works with some compatible sensors. Those sensors are also about 15-20,000 baht per month (each lasts 10-14 days) and then there are insulin capsules for the pump, generally only for a week's supply and costing about 800 baht per one, so that would be way over the budget of many people in Thailand to finance.

 

I know a few who have pump (not closed loop) in Thailand and paid around 200-250k baht for it, with about 3500 baht a month in insulin. And I know 1 in Europe with closed loop system, but there I would not know the cost as that particular person has it covered by insurance so he pays nothing.

 

Yes, it's convenient. But not many will be able to afford it here. As for just the sensor... this is what you'd get out of Libre:

 

[ignis]

24 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

These are not closed systems. Only continuous glucose monitors, which either only give reading and graph when you tap on then (like Libre) or continuously transmit information to reader and give alerts if readings go outside limits (like Libre 3). There are also closed loop systems which include an insulin pump. The reader detects too high reading from the sensor and instructs insulin pump to release insulin. Those are available, but cost in range of 250-300,000 baht for a pump that only works with some compatible sensors. Those sensors are also about 15-20,000 baht per month (each lasts 10-14 days) and then there are insulin capsules for the pump, generally only for a week's supply and costing about 800 baht per one, so that would be way over the budget of many people in Thailand to finance.

 

I know a few who have pump (not closed loop) in Thailand and paid around 200-250k baht for it, with about 3500 baht a month in insulin. And I know 1 in Europe with closed loop system, but there I would not know the cost as that particular person has it covered by insurance so he pays nothing.

 

Yes, it's convenient. But not many will be able to afford it here. As for just the sensor... this is what you'd get out of Libre:

 

Thanks

 

Yes about 4 years ago at a Hospital was told about  300k to start + around 300k per year for ongoing supplies

 

So guess while still able will finger prick + do my own 2 twice daily Insulin injection, there are 2 old people in the Village that cannot manage to self inject,   the one man 95 his Son goes there every day,  the Son and Grandson both Diabetic, the other Lady in her 80s the daughter moved into the house about 4 years ago so she is looked after 24/7 as well as is another Daughter living there [in wheelchair] also cannot manage, the Injections

 

 

[tomazbodner]

1 minute ago, ignis said:

Thanks

 

Yes about 4 years ago at a Hospital was told about  300k to start + around 300k per year for ongoing supplies

 

So guess while still able will finger prick + do my own 2 twice daily Insulin injection, there are 2 old people in the Village that cannot manage to self inject,   the one man 95 his Son goes there every day,  the Son and Grandson both Diabetic, the other Lady in her 80s the daughter moved into the house about 4 years ago so she is looked after 24/7 as well as is another Daughter living there [in wheelchair] also cannot manage, the Injections

 

 

Lantus is about 700 baht at DIamond pharmacy (but needs to be kept in the fridge) for 24 hour insulin, but it's quite dangerous if someone is injecting it as you would not see what happens if you only prick the finger now and then. So to anyone injecting insulin I would definitely recommend CGM, connected with phone or reader, which is about 5000 baht per month together with the insulin. The cost of pump is too high. Checked how much it costs in Europe and it's about the same. But then comes problem of pump is one thing, but where do you get supplies for it... and insulin is not something you can just send by post. So you're stuck with buying it locally. Hence considering constant monitoring and daily injections a reasonable compromise.

[Sheryl]

On 4/11/2024 at 10:48 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Wise words.

 

I was chatting to a massage lady the other day and she said she was diabetic, looked only a little overweight, didn't know whether she was type 1 or 2, but tablets kept her around hba1c of 6. Her diet didn't seem too bad, she talked about cutting down on fruit.

 

Unless she was lying about her diet I couldn't see why she would be type 2, but apparently asians do get it at a lower body mass vs non asian

Type 2 diabetes can be genetic. My mother has always been thin and trim, eats good diet, but comes from a family with a lot of T2D and has it. 

 

I know many people like this. Whole families where every sibing has T2D no matter how slim or what they eat (though of course excess weight/carb intake will make it worse). 

[saintdomingo]

On 4/10/2024 at 6:27 PM, tomazbodner said:

Good discussion on sources of sugar but.... actually sugar isn't the main cause of diabetes.

 

Type 1 is an auto-immune disease where the immune system produces anti-bodies which attack the beta cells in pancreas that produce proinsulin, which breaks down into insulin and c-peptide. The beta cells over time die off and are unable to produce any more insulin, hence patients generally require insulin injections, usually both the long release daily dose and additional doses before meals of short release insulin. To check if someone has type 1 diabetes, a c-peptide test is performed, and reading below 1.6 is considered beta cells are failing, and obviously 0 means they've failed completely. Usually antibody test is performed as well, and if positive, there's no hope of them recovering, although it's also very rare to see pancreas recover after failing for other reasons. Most people diagnosed with type 1 are young, up to mid 20s, although there are some cases where it develops later in life. It is not caused by sugar, but rather allergens found in some foods, most often quoted was cow's milk.

 

Type 2 is insulin resistance. Meaning there is insulin in the body, but cells can't use it to absorb glucose from blood. Again, while sugar and carbohydrates cause spikes in glucose, they are not the main reason for insulin resistance, which often can be reversed (increasing insulin sensitivity), and there are several quite successful programs for it, which include cutting out fats, blaming them for "clogging" cells and therefore starving them of energy. Type 2 diabetes patients are generally very slim, although they consume large amount of foods. Improving sensitivity to insulin can lower the glucose levels without medication, although it requires significant lifestyle changes, where many people rather take medication like Metmorfin, or even resort to insulin injection.

 

There are several more types, but above 2 are most talked about. Still, it's quite important to know that regardless of sugar, especially refined one, and processed carbohydrates that very quickly turn into glucose, are not good for you by any stretch of imagination, they are not the main causes of diabetes. Other lifestyle choices and foods are, however.

I have seen the above theory previously (or similar) possibly on here and also seen it debunked. Who knows.?

So all the sugar and additives in Thai food, especially 7, do not contribute much to diabetes.? Difficult to believe.

Many medical conditions can be genetic, diabetes likewise, but this is not known to be a major cause.

[rexpotter]

Maybe I should have not made the post with the word diabetes. How about fat epidemic?

[saintdomingo]

On 4/10/2024 at 7:31 PM, Smokin Joe said:

 

There is no sugar in alcohol. The juice or soda in a mixed drink may have plenty of sugar in it, but alcohol is sugar-free.

 

Not good for you, but has nothing to do with sugar.

Incorrect Joe.

True there is no sugar in most spirits whisky, vodka etc but plenty in red wine and beer.

In Thailand there is one sugar free beer, San Mig Zero - zero sugar and carbs, 3% alcohol. Not many bars stock it, not sure about shops.

[Smokin Joe]

12 minutes ago, saintdomingo said:

Incorrect Joe.

True there is no sugar in most spirits whisky, vodka etc but plenty in red wine and beer.

In Thailand there is one sugar free beer, San Mig Zero - zero sugar and carbs, 3% alcohol. Not many bars stock it, not sure about shops.

 

Not incorrect. The alcohol in wine and beer, and any other alcoholic beverage has no calories. Sure, the other ingredients might, but not the alcohol.

 

You just assumed that "alcohol" refers to any beverage with alcohol in it. It doesn't.

 

 

[saintdomingo]

Beer is alcohol.

 

Let me rephrase that beer is an alcoholic drink.

 

But enough of semantics and word games.

Edited April 13 by saintdomingo

[george]

On 4/11/2024 at 8:07 PM, tomazbodner said:

You can purchase it. Check Abbott FreeStyle Libre on Lazada. About 2000 baht for one. On Shopee there was just promotion for about 1700 baht per one. They got a bit more expensive recently because of THB sliding, but still affordable. It can be used with FreeStyle Libre reader (~1500-1600 THB) or iPhone (or if you activate with iPhone or reader, you can also read from it with a phone if it has NFC). Libre 2, Libre 3 (which doesn't require tapping on it to read last 8 hours of data) are more expensive, both readers and sensors. The sensor lasts 14 days. There is also SinoCare available on Lazada, which is a bit more clumsy to put on, a bit less accurate but still close, which has 2 parts - a replaceable sensor and a transmitter - so you have to first apply sensor which is just that, and then put the transmitter on it. Never used it, just know some who do, so I am aware you need WeChat account to activate it, then use phone to read from it. Apparently it transmits all the time so you get alert when glucose is too high or too low.

 

I'm adding a couple of links where I purchased stuff from for my better half:

 

For FreeStyle Libre (same link for sensor, reader, or both):

https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i4129320146-s16186087767.html

https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i4248137921-s16806882918.html

 

And some which I did not buy:

Sibionics: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sibionics-24-i4917068558-s20703981535.html

SinoCare: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sinocare-cgm-15-i5012890537-s21186047871.html

Libre3: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/freestyle-libre-3-3-abbott-freestyle-libre-glucose-sensor-real-time-ver3-i4238285617-s16902949255.html?

Libre3 Reader: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/abbott-freestyle-libre-3-3-sensor-reader-mmoll-100-i4484157122-s18132930020.html

Libre2: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/abbott-freestyle-libre-2-ver-2-2-i4238288039-s16736937929.html

 

I don't know what the difference between Libre 1 and 2 is, both are 2 weeks duration but need different readers. Libre 3 is linked to device that activates it and that's what it communicates with. Libre 1 you can use several devices to read from it. Readers from above link for Libre 1 are in "European" mmol/L numbers, where normal fasting glucose is about 5, while application would read it like the "American" units mg/dl, which is x18, so normal fasting glucose would be around 90. I haven't seen readers that can use mg/dl, but the numbers are easy to convert, and if you really don't want to, use phone to tap on the sensor.

 

Libre 1 takes 1 hour from activation to start sending reliable readings, and lasts 14 days for Asia/Europe versions. But US version locks itself up after 10 days. No idea why, they look identical.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ah yes, all these shops are in China so it takes 5-7 days to deliver. So far I haven't had a problem. Beware the expiry date. Currently most sold sensors are expiring 31 August 2024 or 30 September 2024. So mind the quantity purchased to make sure you use them up before they expire. They should be kept on 4-25C.

 

Where do you place these sensors on the body? Are they uncomfortable to wear? 

 

I have Type 2 and would like to control it better..

[scubascuba3]

30 minutes ago, george said:

I have Type 2 and would like to control it better..

Why don't you focus on reversing it?